


Meeting before Zootopia

by Doug48



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Drama, Everybody Lives, Gen, Government, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 18:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11237169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doug48/pseuds/Doug48
Summary: This is my attempt at some backstory to explain some things I didn't fully understand in the movie. No fluff, but there are character interactions, some explanations, and a few additional characters not seen in the movie. Canon compliant.





	Meeting before Zootopia

“This meeting of the police oversight commission will now come to order. With us today at City Hall are several other members of the city council, Mayor Lionheart, Assistant Mayor Bellweather, and District 1 Police Chief Bogo. Police Commissioner Antlerson was unable to be with us today, but wished to let me know that he supported Chief Bogo’s request. There are no press today, so no grandstanding will be necessary. The public will be given the results of the meeting, but not the minutes without a formal ‘Sunshine’ request.” One or two committee members snorted, and the mayor looked disappointed. 

The chair mammal continued. “I understand that both Mayor Lionheart and Chief Bogo have prepared statements and these statements have been supplied to all members of the commission and the council.” Now the yak looked left and right to confirm that everyone had, in fact, had the opportunity to read and review those statements. Most heads nodded, but the chairman knew that very few mammals had actually read either statement. This is the way it was pretty much every time because they always wanted to hear it from the horse’s, or in this case the buffalo’s and the lion’s, mouths. They also knew the matter had been decided previously and so they would have thought about it previously. “Chief Bogo, please approach the podium and give your statement.”

Everyone watched as the buffalo got up from his place and marched to the podium, like the Army officer he once was. The podium looked tiny in front of him, but at least he could look over it when he was standing. They had had a rabbit last time, and he had been forced to stand ON the podium, not behind it, because a high enough chair could not be found. 

Bogo put on his reading glasses and considered the ten members of the oversight committee. Like most government groups in Zootopia, they were nine prey, and one predator because the city was 90% prey and 10% predator. This was a law and it was a good one. Predators and prey both needed to be represented when decisions like this were made. Preds and prey were free to elect anyone they chose, but prey never seemed to pick a pred, and preds never seemed to pick a prey. The current mayor, a lion, was a special exception. But then, Lionheart had to be considered a special case in so many ways. I often wonder how he knows which shoe goes on which foot. Maybe Bellweather puts post it notes on them every morning?

The police chief shook off these thoughts and began reading. “Gentle mammals of the committee, city council, and distinguished guests. Good morning. I come before you today to request that a previous finding of this committee be reconsidered. My officers and I need greater access to the traffic cameras, the so called ‘jam cams’, that watch our city streets at all times. Currently, we can request, and have often requested, a last known siting of some missing mammal or person of interest, but we can’t track that mammal with the cameras because only the mayor’s office has the authority to look at that sort of thing. My officers and I need that access as well, or perhaps a more limited access, but in any case, more than we have now. Thank you for your time.” With that, the chief removed his glasses and waited for the inquisition to begin. 

The chairman responded. “Chief Bogo, first of all, thanks for being brief. However, I don’t see that anything has changed recently to warrant any greater surveillance access by the police department and the mammals of this city only tolerate the jam cams because they think the cameras are only for traffic concerns.”

“That’s what we told them, anyway.” 

The chairman’s gavel banged. “Assistant Mayor Bellweather, you’re out of order. I remind you, and the others guests, that you are here to hear the words of this committee and not to participate unless you are asked a direct question. If you have a petition, you may present it and then you may defend it when asked. You may NOT make snide comments. Speak only when spoken to directly by a member of this body.” 

The sheep didn’t look the slightest bit embarrassed for her outburst or the public reprimand. She usually tried to look lost and totally out of her depth, but this closed session seemed to have made her less careful about her non-threatening image. 

She’s almost like some preds who try to look as non-threatening as possible, Bogo thought. I wonder why the mask is slipping now? 

Another committee member, this time a rodent, spoke up. “Chief Bogo, how do you currently track the comings and goings of mammals?” 

“We ask people who knew the person of interest, or people that we knew were in the area when something happened. Mammals that live nearby, witnesses, or coworkers. People like that.” 

The rodent watched Bogo trying to hide his annoyance and then asked, “So, you don’t really need to use the cameras? Or anyway, not for the reason you stated. Is there another reason?” 

Bogo hoped the chairman would say something about the rat calling the chief of police a liar, but he didn’t, so Bogo tried a flat denial and some sincere sounding propaganda. “There is no other reason. I want more resources to better protect the mammals of this city.”

The rat didn’t seem very impressed, but it was the predator on the committee that answered. “People feel secure enough as it is. They don’t want more police power; if possible, they actually want less. Polling has consistently shown this and council members are representatives of the people. The mayor’s office has full access because someone has to have control if we ever need greater surveillance in the event of a natural disaster or what have you.”  


“Mr. Lionheart, I don’t think all mammals actually know what’s right. Polling has also shown that there are many prey mammals that distrust preds, or ‘chompers,’ as they sometimes call them, and many older prey mammals want a return to the bad old days of TAME collars. The collars weren’t needed then and aren’t needed now, but some think it’s a good precaution. They were eventually removed because we all accepted that humiliating one section of our population just to make another section feel better was not a good idea.” Bogo knew that this Lionheart, Symba, wasn’t an airhead so reason might work with him; and he also knew the current mayor was selected because Symba already had a great deal of control of the Council. Why not add the mayor’s office? 

“This is all very interesting, but do you have anything new to add, Chief Bogo?” Seeing a head shake, the chairman continued, “I call for a vote. All in favor of giving the police more access to the cameras?” There were none. “All opposed?” Now the members of the oversight committee raised their paws and the chairman banged his gavel. “Motion fails. Thank you, Chief Bogo for you continued service to our fair city. You may return to your seat.”  


The buffalo collected his things, pocketed his glasses, turned around and marched back to his seat near the mayor and assistant mayor. “Better luck next time,” Mayor Lionheart whispered in the quiet room as he got up and Bogo reminded himself that head butting the mayor into the wall wouldn’t do much good. 

Several committee members, including one of the rabbits, looked a question at Symba. He shrugged.

“Mayor Lionheart, I see that you have already approached the podium. Are you ready to give your statement?”

Someone else whispered “And is it at least possible that you will be brief?”

The chair mammal heard this and knew it was a committee member, so he pretended that he didn’t hear. 

“Members of the committee, honored guests, friends all, my heart goes out to the brave mammals of the police department and I wish to remind the chief that my office will do everything in our power to help when you or one of your officers ask for pictures from the traffic cameras. However, you have seen today that-“

“Brother, please stop annoying the chief. There are no press here today. You can brag later. For now, please just tell us about this Mammal Inclusion Initiative idea of yours?” Or of Bellweather’s anyway. 

The Mayor looked briefly shocked, but recovered instantly. ‘Never let them see they get to you,’ after all. “Right, right. I was just trying to reassure the chief after that setback to his, no doubt, wise and honorable plans.”  


Several committee members looked at Bogo and noted that he looked very much like he wanted to explode. What the heck is the mayor talking about now? At least he’s entertaining.  


“Members of the committee, honored guests, friends, I have come before you to request-“

Thirty minutes later, he concluded with “-so you can see that this is the only just way to move forward in this, the century of our greatest triumphs.” And he smiled, showing all his teeth. 

Several committee members appeared to have fallen asleep and only the chairman was actually paying any attention by now. Symba was checking his phone messages and had been doing so for the past twenty minutes. 

“Mr. Mayor… What do you want?” The chairman looked annoyed. 

“As I’ve explained just now, I want what is just and good-“

“Symba, what the heck does your brother want? If I have to listen to another one of his speeches, I may adjourn this meeting and throw myself off the nearest bridge.”

“Perhaps Chief Bogo can explain it to us. It concerns the police department, after all.”

“Chief Bogo?” 

The chief looked up from his tablet and snorted. “The mayor’s office wants to put smaller mammals on the police force. He calls it the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but I do think we’ll have to proceed carefully, possibly with some sort of pilot project. Smaller mammals need more time to adjust to the realities of policing in the city, so I was thinking-“.

“We’ll put the first one in your precinct!” 

Bogo looked at the mayor as if he had lost his mind. “No, I will not allow an unqualified officer in my precinct! Don’t even THINK it, you fool!” He regretted his words immediately. 

There was a brittle silence, and now everyone was paying attention to the train wreck. Their faces showed various emotions and expressions as they looked at Bogo. Mostly surprise. The mayor looked confused. The assistant mayor looked triumphant, and then tried to look concerned. For his part, Bogo only lowered his massive head and waited. 

“Bogo, I wish you had not said that.” Symba spoke first in a kind of apology to the other committee members. Symba had asked Bogo to explain, so any problem with the outburst could be partly attributed to the lion. Partly, but not all. 

The chairman was the next committee member to recover. “Chief Bogo. You will not refer to the mayor in that fashion. If you can’t control yourself, then you are excused. Furthermore, it’s only your precinct as long as we, and the police commissioner, allow it. You’re a police chief and a servant of the people. You do not make the final decision about officer placement in every case.” 

Bogo looked genuinely contrite. “I’m sorry, chairman. It won’t happen again.”

An hour later, Bogo was leaving City Hall, walking back toward his office, and thinking. Well, I’m not getting an increase in my personnel budget, and I am getting an officer straight from the academy as a political stunt and it’s my own damn fault. I’m not getting an experienced cop like Precinct One usually gets. Not someone from one of the other precincts with years of experience and the recommendations of his supervisors. No, I’m getting a ROOKIE. What am I going to do with a Rookie? Train him, I guess, and hope he doesn’t get killed on his first day when he tries to arrest a tiger on nuke. Marduke! What about a partner? If I’m only getting one, where am I going to put him? Have to start him on traffic detail and see if he complains.

**Author's Note:**

> This sort of discussion might have been better separated into two meetings, but I enjoyed the Bogo / Lionheart interaction too much to separate them. 
> 
> I wrote this after asking myself a few questions. Why didn't the other cops use the Jam Cams to locate any of the missing mammals? Where did the police get that picture of Mr. Otterton eating a pawsickle? What is Bogo's reasoning for the way he treats Officer Hopps on the first day? What sort of city management structure does Zootopia have? They can't just have a mayor and assistant mayor because both of them go to jail and someone else must have been in charge at least briefly after Bellweather's arrest. 
> 
> This is my second posting, so there are still some things I'm not sure about.


End file.
